The Exterminating Angel

    Director: Luis Bunuel

    Country/Date : Mexico/1962 （black and white)

    Introduction : A party is organized in a high class society house. Many people are

    drinking and eating．It's getting late, but nobody is leaving．Even though the door is open, people seem to be locked in the house．They can't leave either the day or on

    the following days．So a rescue began．

    The Net

    Director: Irwin Winkler

    Country/Date: U．S．A．/1995

    Introduction: Angela Bennettt is a computer programmer who has devoted her life to

    computers and the Internet．She spends hours and hours in front of the screen．She does everything over the Internet, and she has some close friends in a chat room,

    though she has never talked to her neighbors．

    Kung Fu Panda

    Director : Mark Osborne & John Stevenson

    Country/Date : U．S．A．/2008

    Introduction: The leading character is a panda whose name is Po．He is lazy first but he has a great dream—to be a kung fu master．To make his dream come true, he goes to a faraway temple to learn kung fu from a master．However, one of his brothers,

    Tai Long wants to become the kung fu master, killing many of his brothers even the

    master．So Po fights against Tai Long and defeats him, The film is good especially

    for kids．

    Life is Beautiful

    Director: Roberto Benigni

    Country/Date : Italy/1998

    Introduction: In 1939, during World WarⅡ in Italy, Guido, a hopeful man, the main character fell in love with Dora, and they got married．Five years later, their lives changed．Guido and Joshua were taken by the Nazis（纳粹）to a concentration camp and Dora also went there with her husband and son．At that place, Guido tried his best to save his son's life in a special way．

    California has become the first U.S. state to approve plans to require newly-built homes to include solar equipment.

    The state's Energy Commission voted 5-0 to approve the new rules, which are to take effect in 2020. The rules will deal with most newly-built residential (住宅的) buildings up to three stories high.

    The move is California's latest step aimed at reaching renewable energy targets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    California has set a goal of filling half of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030. Officials said they had reached 30 percent by the end of 2017. The state's Governor, Jerry Brown, plans to hold an international climate meeting in September.

    ①The Energy Commission said the cost of adding solar equipment to a single-family home would be about $9,500. But, the group added that homeowners would save at least $19,000 in energy costs over 30 years.

    Robert Raymer is the technical director for the California Building Industry Association. He says the action is a step forward for the wider use of solar power in the U.S. "You can bet every other of the 49 states will be watching closely to see what happens," he told the Associated Press.

    ②Solar companies praised the new requirements, which officials have said will likely raise demand for solar equipment in California by 10-15 percent.

    The Solar Energy Industries Association called it a "historic decision for the state and the U.S." It estimated the action would produce "huge economic and environmental benefits," including bringing tens of billions of dollars into California.

    ③Some legislative and community leaders argued that Californians cannot afford to pay any more for housing in what is already an extremely high-priced market.

    "That's just going to drive the cost up and make California, once again, not affordable to live in," said California Assemblyman Brian Dahle.

    ④Severin Borenstein is an energy economist at the University of California, in Berkeley. He sent an email to the head of California's Energy Commission to urge the state to reconsider its decision.

    He expressed his belief that it is a mistake for California to approve such a policy instead of centering on efforts to develop large solar farms to produce renewable energy. He said these farms would cost much less to operate.

    "Every energy economist I know is shaking their head at this," he told the Wall Street Journal. "In many ways, this is setting the wrong example," he added.

                                                      Four Wild Animal Species Were Endangered

    Maybe you can still see them at the zoo. But that doesn't mean they're doing alright in the wild.

    Tigers

    All six tiger species are endangered, with Suatran tigers and South China tigers at a seriously endangered status. The main reasons for their population decline are illegal hunting and destroyed habitats, as humans clear forests to gather timber and build roadways. Only about 3890 tigers presently live in the wild.

    Ground squirrels

    That's right, even squirrels are endangered, specifically the San Joaquin ground squirrel. Native to California, USA, these guys have been disappearing since 1979 on account of the construction and human developments going through their habitat. Their total population is unknown, but it could be anywhere between 124000 and 4130000.

    Giraffes

    The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recently put giraffes at a vulnerable status, the level just before endangered. The giraffe population has declined 40 percent in the last 30 years, primarily due to loss of habitat and illegal hunting. Some giraffes are killed just for their tails, which are considered status symbols in Africa.

    Asian elephants

    The main threat to Asian elephants, one of the most intelligent animals, is their shrinking habitat. As the human population grows, people invade their land to build roads and railway tracks. Elephants in Myanmar are at an especially high risk for being captured and traded or used illegally in the tourist industry. Fewer than 50000 are left on the entire continent.

    "Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they're given after all. Choices can be hard." –– Jeff Bezos.

    I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I'd never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I'd been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn't work since most start-ups don't, and I wasn't sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I'd been a garage inventor. I'd always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.

    I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, "That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn't already have a good job." That logic made some sense to me, and he persuaded me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but finally, I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing. And I believed I would always be haunted(萦绕)by a decision to not try at all.

    After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I'm proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.

    When I was in primary school, I had an argument with a boy in my class. I thought that "I" was right and that "he" was wrong. But he thought "I" was wrong and "he" was right.

    The teacher asked him to stand on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large and round ball. I could see it was black. She asked what color the ball was. "White," he answered.

    I couldn't believe the boy's answer, because from my side it was obviously black!

    The teacher told me to stand in the boy's place and told him to stand in my place. We changed our places, and then the teacher asked me what color the ball was. I had to answer, "White."

    It was a ball with two different colors. From his side it was white. Only from my side was it black.

    My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must stand in other people's shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their view.